A gigantic tower that suddenly appeared in the heart of Seoul in the 2040s.
In the aftermath, half of the capital, Seoul, evaporated.
On top of that, rifts began to form, spewing out monsters, and Korea was pushed quite literally to the brink of destruction.
Yet Korea’s restoration, which had been said to take a hundred years, took less than five.
Because the cores—what could be called the hearts of monsters—were a miraculous substance: superconductors at room temperature and normal pressure.
This miraculous substance not only restored Korea’s national power, but also established it as a hegemonic nation leading the world order beyond East Asia.
And the corporations that had played the leading role in that prosperity and recovery also achieved tremendous rapid growth.
One of those leading players, and the company sitting on the throne as the number one conglomerate in Korea’s business world through its super-gap doctrine, was none other than Changseong Electronics.
Chairman Lee Yongjae, the head of a major corporation everyone dreamed of working for both then and now, turned off the hologram he had been silently watching.
“This report video came in last night, but I just can’t quite understand it. So I’d like you to explain it to me, Team Leader One.”
“Yes, Chairman.”
The man addressed as Team Leader One immediately stepped forward before the chairman.
His right arm, covered by his suit, was a dark metal prosthetic, and a large scar was carved across his stern-looking face.
“Chairman, would you bring the video back up?”
“Very well.”
Once again, a hologram rose before the chairman.
The contents of the hologram were simple.
An undead-type monster had suddenly appeared at a construction site, only to be shattered to pieces the moment a delivery rider appeared.
Chairman Lee Yongjae leaned fully back in his chair, tilting his head as if he still did not understand even after seeing it again.
“I can tell it’s remarkable, but I don’t know how remarkable. So explain that monster to me first.”
“Yes, Chairman. First, I will slow down the playback of this video and explain it in detail.”
“Good. How much?”
“To 0.01x speed.”
“What…?”
The hologram replayed from the moment the undead-type monster appeared.
Team Leader One immediately paused the hologram and spoke to the chairman.
“The monster you are seeing now is an identified magical beast currently classified as A-rank. Its identification code is Hecatoncheires, and from what I’ve heard…”
“A giant from Greek mythology with fifty heads and a hundred hands. This one has far more heads and hands than that… but I suppose the name fits well enough.”
“Yes. Also, as you know, an A-rank identified magical beast is different from an ordinary A-rank monster.”
“Indeed. I hear it can only be dealt with by a team of at least five hunters of S-rank or higher.”
“That is correct. I will resume the video.”
The next scene showed a delivery rider wearing a helmet and a sky-blue jacket appearing from somewhere.
Thanks to the playback being set to 0.01x speed, only then could the chairman clearly see what the delivery rider had done.
“One, two… ten… easily a hundred times. Did he swing his sword a hundred times in the span of a single blink?”
“No, it was likely more than that. Police CCTV does not have high-speed recording capability.”
“…Absurd. Should we take this opportunity to donate CCTV cameras with high-speed recording to the police?”
“Hahaha.”
Now that he understood just how extraordinary the delivery rider in the video was, the chairman turned off the hologram again.
Then he looked at Team Leader One beyond his rimless glasses, his eyes flashing.
“What do you think, Team Leader One?”
“By now, other companies and the government have probably noticed as well. As the saying goes, a sharp awl cannot be hidden in a sack.”
“True. Rumors spread quickly. Even more so in this age.”
“That is correct. So, if I may offer my opinion… I believe we should make contact with this delivery rider immediately. If we can bring him over to our side, there would be nothing better, but if we cannot, we must ensure no one else can touch him.”
“Hmm. Is he really to that extent?”
“Yes, Chairman. If that delivery rider joins the government or another corporation, the entire board will change.”
“Haha, if Team Leader One says that much, I want to bring him in all the more.”
Even now, in 2090, Changseong’s founding principle of the super-gap doctrine remained alive and well.
Therefore, Chairman Lee Yongjae absolutely wanted to see that delivery rider with his own eyes.
“It is only my personal opinion, but… there is a high probability that this delivery rider will not belong to any organization.”
“Is that so? Why do you think that?”
“Because a person with such ability is working as a delivery rider.”
“Mm. True. If he had any intention of doing otherwise, he would have done so long ago.”
With a low hum, Chairman Lee Yongjae nodded as well.
In truth, the chairman had roughly guessed as much himself.
For someone of that caliber to be living hand-to-mouth meant that he was satisfied with such a life.
However, the head of a major corporation was also, by nature, one of the people in the world most starved for talent.
“Team Leader One.”
“Yes, Chairman.”
“It goes without saying, but I trust you. If it were not for you, the Changseong of today would not exist.”
“You honor me too much.”
“Haha. But that is not enough. The number of employees directly hired by Changseong alone is one million. If we include subcontractors and partner companies, the number is beyond counting, and it will only grow from here. We can no longer stop even for a moment. Stagnation is obsolescence, and obsolescence is death.”
“Yes, Chairman. There are times when an operation must be carried out even if its chances of success are low.”
“Good. Then proceed. But do not push too forcefully. If the board flips even by the slightest chance, we will be the ones in the most trouble.”
“You are correct. Hmm… This is a somewhat rough way to put it, but may I proceed with the feeling of ‘if it works, good; if not, then so be it’?”
“Ha, yes. That level should be fine. You may go.”
“Yes, Chairman.”
***
After leaving the chairman’s office, Team Leader One immediately went down to the floor below.
His destination was Team One—his workplace and his battlefield.
A department that did not exist externally, and even within the company, only the highest-ranking executives knew of Team One’s existence.
Team One’s primary duty was securing large cores.
All other tasks existed solely to facilitate that primary duty.
Among them was headhunting as well, and so Team Leader One picked up the receiver of the internal phone.
It was one of the objects that reflected his philosophy and stubborn insistence that analog methods offered the greatest security.
“Call Scarlet.”
“Yes, Team Leader.”
Immediately, an announcement came from beyond the door.
[Agent Scarlet Kim, the team leader is calling for you.]
Before long…
—Knock, knock.
“Team Leader, it’s Scarlet. May I come in?”
“Yes.”
The doorknob turned with a clicking sound.
Then, a beautiful woman with dazzling blond hair and shining blue eyes appeared before Team Leader One… but.
The moment he saw her clearly exposed cleavage and provocative smile, Team Leader One snapped in an icy voice.
“Get out. Now.”
“Aaang, Team Leaderrr~ It’s been so long since we’ve seen each other~”
“Ha…”
“But… what brings this on today…? Could it be that you’re finally going to force me…?”
“How many times have I told you! I’m a married man!”
“Kyaa~ You’re so scary my buttons might pop off~♥”
“Get out right now! If you don’t want to get fired, fix your clothes and come back!”
Team Leader One squeezed his eyes shut, exhaled roughly, and once again recalled why he had called Scarlet.
Scarlet Kim. A mixed-race Korean-American.
S-rank hunter, outstanding performance record, excellent abilities not only in combat but in other duties as well.
Bright and lively personality, highly sociable, excellent negotiation skills.
So there was no mistake in my personnel selection.
The mistake is that damned woman’s ridiculous fetish.
Having organized his thoughts, Team Leader One looked at Scarlet, who had come back in.
“Team Leader… it’s so stuffy…”
“Shut up. Close your mouth and look at this.”
“Tch. Would it kill you to pounce on me by force just once…”
Barely suppressing the anger surging up inside him, the team leader played the hologram video he had watched earlier with the chairman.
The video played as a hologram lasted less than one second.
At this point, it would have been more accurate to call it a single frame rather than a video, but…
“…Wow.”
The moment the hologram disappeared, a sharp gleam flashed in Scarlet’s blue eyes.
The team leader’s tone had also turned dry and businesslike.
“How does it look?”
“Game changer. That’s the only way to put it. An A-rank identified magical beast, alone, in a single breath… I can’t even get a sense of it. Who is he? What does he do?”
Team Leader One silently handed her a single document.
“Lee Hyeondo, twenty-nine years old, drifter, lives in a one-room apartment on the outskirts of Seoul, occupation is… delivery rider? Really?”
“…Why do you keep using English? You’ve lived in Korea since you were five. Even the name you use now is an alias. I think your name was…”
“Ah, Team Leaderrr! You said you wouldn’t talk about my real name! Anyway, is this guy really a delivery rider? Why? Why?”
“How would I know? That’s all the information the police confirmed. Well, personally, I think it’s because he has no intention of doing anything else.”
“Aha, I see. But… wow… what a body… his face is my type too… a total beast…”
“What did you say?”
“No, sir. No problem.”
“Stop making a fool of yourself and listen seriously.”
“Sir, yes sir!”
Team Leader One put the document Scarlet returned straight into the shredder.
Then he held out a black card to Scarlet.
“This is payment for the core of the Hecatoncheires that delivery rider dealt with. Tell him that no matter where or how it is used, Changseong will cover the expense.”
“Wow, a black card. It doesn’t even have an expiration date. No matter how expensive the core of an A-rank magical beast is, this is too much. Don’t tell me?”
“Yes. Of course, the real mission is separate.”
“You’re telling me to bring this delivery rider over to our side by any means necessary, right?”
“Hm? Well… that is true, but…”
Wait, by any means necessary…?
Thinking that the chairman had not spoken quite that forcefully, the team leader hurriedly stopped Scarlet.
“Hey, Scarlet. Wait.”
“What is it, Team Leader?”
“You’re not thinking of anything strange, are you?”
“Something strange? Like what? Isn’t my job just to hold out this card and ask if he’ll work with us?”
“Uh… yes, that’s true, but… don’t push too forcefully. Got it?”
“Yes, Team Leader. Threats only work on people they work on. Then may I go?”
“Yes… It probably won’t happen, but if an emergency call comes in, get here immediately.”
“Of course, Team Leader. That’s why I get paid such an expensive salary. Then I’ll be off to work.”
“Uh, uh… yes…”
What was that? Why is she suddenly so obedient?
Team Leader One immediately forgot the question that had occurred to him.
One way or another, Scarlet’s only problem was her strange fetish.
“…Wait a second.”
Team Leader One immediately picked up the receiver again.
“Call Scarlet back. Now.”
“Uh… she just left, though…?”
“Then send an alert or something! Tell her to come back immediately!”
“Understood. Huh? Her terminal is turned off.”
“Fucking bitch…!”